


Colored Out the Lines

by AdlerKlasse



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fluff, Humor, and other ships if you squint/wear goggles, hyewon centric with OT12 shenanigans, minor/background 2jin, or an AU of that where hyejoo doesn't ask for help and is hella broke, this is like the cousin of A Colorful Mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:54:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25919884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdlerKlasse/pseuds/AdlerKlasse
Summary: Getting a girlfriend is hard when you’re broke and dumb.OR Hyejoo just wants to woo Chaewon, but noooo, her friends, her wallet, and her own stupidity keep getting in the way.
Relationships: Park Chaewon | Go Won/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye
Comments: 8
Kudos: 222





	Colored Out the Lines

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this tweet: https://twitter.com/hyewonquotes/status/1294172239601045505

It sucks being broke.

Now, Hyejoo’s sure there’s an argument to be made that you can’t really be broke if you never really had money in the first place, but the end result is the same:

Wallet flat, fridge empty, girlfriend nonexistent. 

That last point has been plaguing Hyejoo as of late (she can’t remember a time when her wallet _wasn’t_ flat and she’s grown used to bumming food from her friends), and it’s all thanks to Hyunjin and Heejin finally, finally, _finally_ getting together after dancing around each other for all of high school. The two have been virtually inseparable since that day Hyunjin stood outside in the rain with a whole wagonload of flowers.

Like damn, way to show off your not-broke-ness.

Hyejoo can’t even take her mind off of things by gaming, her poor computer made of scavenged and salvaged parts giving out after a particularly long match of League. She had been right about to score a Pentakill and turn the tides in one fell swoop when her computer decided to go _beep beep, WHIIIIIRRRR, vreeee, beep beep_ , and then her screen went black.

Hyejoo only has Angry Birds left, the only thing that’ll run on her ancient phone, and even that’s not really an option since she’s been stuck on a level for the past three months. Bored out of her mind and tired of staring at the ceiling while thinking of a certain someone, Hyejoo pulls up her phone’s browser and thanks the world for free wifi.

Heejin doesn’t need to know that “iloveaeongie” is a terrible password.

_how to get a girlfriend_

_how to ask your best friend to be your girlfriend_

_how to win over the girl of your dreams_

_how to win over the girl of your dreams for free_

_how to win over the girl of your dreams for free no money I’M BROKE_

Twenty minutes of fruitless searching and waiting for pages to load like a slug later, Hyejoo comes across a link that catches her eye for some reason. She clicks on it, and it takes another half century to load which is not surprising when a blog appears on Hyejoo’s cracked screen. It looks so incredibly retro and dated with flashing sparkles taking up the majority of the black background while rainbow-colored, bolded, Comic Sans text floats around.

_WELCOME TO MY EDEN_

Hyejoo squints. She almost considers closing this tab when an image of an apple clearly pulled from clip art flies across the screen; it really feels like staying on this page too long will cause her phone to cave in on itself or something. She’s come this far though, so she might as well read the article she came here for.

Hopefully this Yves person has better advice than she has taste.

_HOW TO GET A GIRLFRIEND WITHOUT SPENDING A DIME_

_1\. BE GOOD LOOKING._

_2\. BE ME._

_3\. BE CURTEOUS AND KIND._

_4\. DO SWEET THINGS FOR HER._

_5\. LOOK LIKE ME._

Hyejoo scrolls to the bottom on a whim, her phone lagging the entire way. The list ends at “ _100\. ACT LIKE ME._ ” and Hyejoo wants to delete this entire site, wipe it from her history, and clear it from her memory.

… But it did have some good points in the middle of all the nonsense…

Hyejoo sighs and begins swiping back to the top. She pulls out a stubby little pencil before grabbing a Chemistry exam from last semester and flipping it over to its blank backside. With much reluctance and resignation, Hyejoo begins taking notes.

If only she had money instead.

* * *

_38\. BE A GENTLEWOMAN. OPEN DOORS FOR HER._

“Son Hyejoo, I am going to kill you.”

Hyejoo blinks before frowning as Chaewon runs up to her, panting.

“What did I do this time?” she asks.

“What did you do? _What did you do_?” Chaewon places her hands on her knees as she tries to catch her breath. She looks up, scowling when she finally doesn’t look like she’s dying.

Cute, Hyejoo thinks.

“All I did was open this door for you,” she says.

“And I was on the other side of the building!” Chaewon whines. “Why’d you make me sprint all the way over here?”

“Nobody said you had to rush,” Hyejoo argues. “You could have taken your time. I would have waited.”

“Yeah, and you would have looked _stupid_ ,” Chaewon points out. “Since when did you turn into a door monitor?”

“Since I felt like it,” Hyejoo shrugs. “Isn’t it nice and, uh, gentlewomanly to hold doors open for people?”

“Not from a million miles away!”

“You didn’t have to run!”

“How could I not–”

“Ah, let’s just get to class,” Hyejoo says, throwing her arm around Chaewon’s neck. The shorter girl yelps, but she doesn’t push Hyejoo off (Hyejoo doubts she has the strength to) and allows herself to be steered in the direction of their shared lecture hall.

Hyejoo screeches to a halt when their classroom comes into view, ignoring the strange choking sound coming from Chaewon. She quickly lets go of her crush and begins speed-walking forward.

“After you,” Hyejoo says majestically as she pulls open the door. She throws in a bow, hoping that’ll properly convey her “exquisite charms” and whatever else that blog was saying.

“Oh no,” Chaewon says, suddenly summoning the air of royalty. She even curtsies. “After _you_.”

“No, no, after you,” Hyejoo insists.

“No, after you–”

“After ME,” Yeojin says as she appears out of nowhere to shove both her friends aside.

As Chaewon chases after Yeojin into the lecture hall with a high pitched “Im Yeojin!”, Hyejoo lets out a sigh.

That could have gone _infinitely_ better.

… But there’s still a chance.

_41\. PULL OUT HER CHAIR FOR HER._

Hyejoo quickly rushes into the room after Yeojin and Chaewon, vaulting over a table to make it to their usual spot before either of her shorter friends get there first. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees them stop squabbling as they watch her antics, but she pays them no heed as she dramatically pulls out Chaewon’s seat for her.

“For the princess,” Hyejoo declares.

“Why, thank you!” Yeojin says, grinning widely as she pushes Chaewon away. 

Just as she’s about to sit down, Hyejoo pulls the chair away.

“Not you,” she hisses.

Yeojin immediately falls to the floor with a loud “oomph!” as Chaewon starts laughing. The sound is music to Hyejoo’s ears, and she smirks proudly when Chaewon slaps her shoulder in amusement. 

It’s always a win when you make the girl you like laugh, right?

“I’m telling Haseul-unnie!”

Maybe not.

* * *

_12\. PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO HER. PAY ALL THE ATTENTION TO HER. STARE AT HER MEANINGFULLY._

“Hey, Hyejoo. Hyejoo? SON HYEJOO.”

Hyejoo jumps in her seat, turning with a frown to face Jungeun.

“What do you want?” she snaps. “I’m busy.”

“Move over,” Jungeun demands. She doesn’t give Hyejoo time to comply, nearly sitting on her lap as she slides into the booth next to Hyejoo. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“I’m _busy_ ,” Hyejoo says again. “Can’t it wait?”

“No, actually,” Jungeun says, and there’s a seriousness to her tone that makes Hyejoo sit up properly and look at her friend.

She still swats away Jungeun’s hand when she tries to grab one of Hyejoo’s fries.

“What is it?”

Jungeun clears her throat.

“Well… Jinsol-unnie and I noticed that you’ve been a little… funny today,” she says. 

“Funny? Define funny.”

“You look like someone kidnapped that ugly dog of yours.”

“Excuse me?” Hyejoo’s glare intensifies. “Your dog is uglier than mine.”

“Mine doesn’t look like some bodybuilding competition gone wrong–”

“Don’t your dogs look kind of the same?” Jinsol cuts in, sliding into the booth across Hyejoo. 

“No!”

Jinsol rears back from the synchronized protests, her face a perfect imitation of the grimacing emoji that Vivi of all people has been spamming lately. Her eyes dart between the two incensed pet owners, and she raises her hands entreatingly.

“Sorry?”

“Okay, what do you two want?” Hyejoo grumbles. “And Jinsol-unnie, move over a bit. You’re blocking the view.”

“Ah, that’s what we’re here to talk to you about, actually,” Jungeun says. Her second attempt to steal Hyejoo’s food is thwarted. “Like are you okay? You keep staring at the other table.”

“Yeah,” Jinsol agrees. “Like… you look kind of constipated. Yeah, just like that!” she says quickly when Hyejoo’s frown deepens.

“… This is my concentrating face.” 

Jungeun blinks.

“Well, that’s unfortunate– Ow!”

“Did you two just come here to insult me and my dog or something?” Hyejoo growls as she pulls her elbow back. 

“No, we didn’t,” Jinsol says. “Well, _I_ didn’t, don’t know about Jungeun here– Hey! She kicked me!”

“It’s what you deserve,” Jungeun says flatly. She pointedly turns away from where Jinsol is pouting. “Look, Hyejoo. I have no idea what you’re… concentrating so hard for–”

“I’m trying to figure out how I got stuck sitting with you two–”

“But!” Jungeun continues loudly. “If there’s something on your mind… well, maybe we unnies can help you out?”

“Yeah,” Jinsol nods. “Like if something’s bothering you, you can tell us, you know.”

“Nothing’s bothering me. Honestly,” Hyejoo says when her two friends look at her doubtfully. “I’m just trying to… pay attention.”

“Pay attention to what?” Jinsol asks, and she actually twists her whole body to look behind her. Hyejoo thinks she hears a crack.

“Hi, Jinsol-unnie!” Yerim greets from where she’s sitting next to Chaewon. 

“Hi, Yerim!” Jinsol says before turning back to Hyejoo. “What’s so interesting over there?”

“Chaewon is, right?” Jungeun says with a smirk as she scoots closer to Hyejoo.

“No!” Hyejoo denies out of reflex. 

“Okay, okay,” Jungeun backs off quickly. “Don’t bite my head off. Chaewon already chewed us out.”

Hyejoo blinks, confused.

“Chewed you out about what?”

“Just stuff,” Jinsol says evasively. 

Hyejoo doesn’t buy that answer at all, and she’s just about to start preparing a grilling session for these two suspicious folks when a sound catches her attention.

She looks up just in time to see Chaewon giggling. She’s talking to Vivi now, the two of them laughing over something on Vivi’s phone. Vivi whispers something, and Chaewon lets out an amused snort. Her mirth only increases as they continue watching whatever it is, and Hyejoo can’t help the smile that comes to her face as she watches Chaewon’s eyes turn into happy crescents.

As if bound by destiny or something equally sappy, Chaewon chooses that moment to look up from the phone. Her eyes automatically meet Hyejoo’s, and they somehow light up even more than they already have.

Hyejoo doesn’t think she can fall any deeper.

And then Jinsol slides over to block her view.

“Are we holding a staring contest?” she asks, and while Hyejoo normally reserves thoughts of murder for Sooyoung, she thinks she’ll make an exception today.

“Wait, count me in,” Jungeun says. She positions herself carefully, resting her elbows on the table as she uses her fingers to hold her eyelids open.

Hyejoo buries her face in her hands.

“Jungeun,” Jinsol says seriously. “You look like an owl.”

Hyejoo sighs.

“Ten bucks,” she says. “Ten bucks to whoever wins.”

She doesn’t actually have ten bucks, but hey, if these two are going to disrupt her meaningful staring, they might as well pay for it.

Her gamble pays off when Jungeun accidentally looks at Jinsol and loses her composure for whatever reason. Another sneaky kick to Jinsol’s shin lands Hyejoo the victory, and she walks away from everyone’s favorite diner with twenty bucks in her wallet.

Chaewon also sits with her on the ride back to their dorms, so all things considered, Hyejoo thinks it was a pretty good night.

* * *

_33\. IF YOU ARE SHARING AN UMBRELLA, HOLD IT FOR HER._

“Give me that,” Hyejoo says as she snatches the white umbrella out of Chaewon’s grasp. “I feel like you’re going to poke my eye out.”

“It’s not my fault you’re freakishly tall,” Chaewon says. She doesn't bother taking the umbrella back; instead, she wraps her hand around Hyejoo’s so that they’re holding the handle together.

It takes Hyejoo a second to remember to reply.

“It’s not my fault you’re freakishly short,” she retorts, ignoring the small jab she feels at her waist.

“Are we leaving through the west quad?” Chaewon asks as they walk through campus accompanied by the sound of raindrops gently pelting their umbrella.

“Yep,” Hyejoo says as she tilts the handle a bit to cover Chaewon better. “Vivi-unnie says she’ll pick us up since Sooyoung-unnie is busy with dance practice.”

“Ooh, I hope she won’t get mad if we get her car seats wet,” Chaewon says. “I mean we can’t really help it, can we?”

Hyejoo opens her mouth to respond, but something else catches her attention.

“Do you hear that?” she asks Chaewon, coming to a stop to listen better.

“Wait for me!” a voice calls out.

“I don’t know if I want to hear that…” Chaewon says slowly.

“Should we just run for it?” Hyejoo suggests.

But it’s too late.

“Wait for me– whoa– uh oh– AH!”

A figure outright plows into them, and Hyejoo screams as Chaewon shrieks, water spraying all over them as their umbrella flies out of both of their hands. It lands with a wet plop into a nearby puddle, and Hyejoo nearly falls over in her mad dash to retrieve it. 

“Oops,” Haseul says sheepishly as she huddles next to Chaewon. “I slipped.”

Hyejoo pinches the bridge of her nose.

“How are the three of us supposed to fit under one umbrella?” she asks even as she holds it over her friends instead of herself. “Where even is yours?”

“I gave it to Yeojin and Yerim,” Haseul explains. “They’re walking all the way back to their dorm, so…”

“Makes sense,” Chaewon nods as she all but glues herself to Hyejoo’s side. “Come on, unnie. Vivi-unnie’s waiting for us.”

Haseul likewise plasters herself to Hyejoo’s other side, and in a strange turn of fate Hyejoo is left the driest as she forms the pillar of this trio awkwardly shuffling towards the parking lot. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a moot point considering how they’re all already drenched thanks to gravity’s grudge against Haseul. To make matters worse, the downpour only grows in intensity and Vivi is nowhere to be seen when they reach their destination, leaving them to stand like penguins besieged by a snowstorm as they wait at the curb.

“Ah, I hate the rain,” Haseul laments as they form a circle under the umbrella instead of a line. 

“This crazy wind isn’t helping either,” Chaewon grouses. “I hope Vivi-unnie is driving safely.”

“Yeah,” Hyejoo agrees before a lightbulb suddenly goes off in her head.

_74\. WALK ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE SIDEWALK. PROTECT HER AT ALL COSTS!!!_

Hyejoo clears her throat before taking a subtle step to the left.

Haseul, whether subconsciously or not, imitates the action, forcing Chaewon to rotate to the left as well. Hyejoo carefully takes another step, and then another, and then another until she’s the one closest to the street. Haseul has her head down, mumbling nonsense to herself as she shivers in the cold, but just as Hyejoo thinks her little trick has successfully gone by unnoticed, she meets Chaewon’s gaze.

There isn’t much time to think about what Chaewon’s look means when a loud honk echoes through the parking lot. Hyejoo barely manages to turn her head around when she sees a car headed straight at them.

“Oh my god!” Hyejoo shouts.

“Oh my god!” Chaewon screams.

“Oh my god!” Haseul screeches.

At the last second, the vehicle turns with incredible traction on wet asphalt. It drifts without losing control somehow, water spraying everywhere as it comes to a stop right against the curb.

Of course, Hyejoo gets splashed right in the face.

She stops complaining hours later when Vivi and Haseul personally bring her a giant bowl of hot, freshly made chicken noodle soup.

Chaewon cuddling with her for warmth is a big bonus.

* * *

_69\. IF SHE SAYS JUMP, YOU SAY HOW HIGH. DO WHATEVER SHE SAYS._

Hyejoo wants to sue this Yves stranger. 

It’s all their fault that she’s currently freezing her butt outside of a McDonald’s at 4am.

“‘Do whatever she says,’” Hyejoo mutters under her breath. She clutches her jacket tighter around herself as she shifts from foot to foot. “‘Do whatever she says,’ my ass.”

“What was that?” Hyunjin yawns next to her.

“Nothing.”

Okay, so maybe it’s not really Yves’ fault that Hyejoo has an inability to say no to Chaewon’s ideas no matter how far fetched they can be sometimes (it’s that stupid pleading emoji; it should be banned from Chaewon’s phone), but Hyejoo would much rather blame someone else for her own follies than to blame herself. 

At least Hyunjin’s here to suffer with her.

Heejin and Chaewon finally emerge from McDonald’s ten minutes later with ice cream cones. Hyejoo has no idea what those two are thinking, but they’re in a good mood as they converse merrily as though it’s four in the afternoon instead of four in the morning. 

“Oh, this is for you,” Chaewon says as she reaches Hyejoo. “You looked hungry.”

The burger she hands over almost looks like it’s glowing with celestial light, and Hyejoo takes it gratefully while thanking the powers that be for letting her befriend an actual angel.

“Hey, don’t I get anything?” Hyunjin asks, crossing her arms.

“You didn’t drive,” Chaewon says flippantly.

“Sorry,” Heejin says when her girlfriend looks at her. “I didn’t bring my wallet, so everything is on Chaewon.”

“Except I have no more cash on me right now,” Chaewon says quickly when Hyunjin turns back to her.

“Not even a buck?” Hyunjin’s lips curve downward in an extremely exaggerated manner, and she looks awfully like that one cat from that one movie with that one green creature that Yerim keeps trying to get Hyejoo to watch.

Good thing Chaewon is immune as she simply shrugs. “I don’t even have a penny left.”

“... You brought exact change for two ice cream cones and a quarter pounder?”

“Precisely.”

Hyejoo snickers into the last few bites of her burger when Hyunjin looks downright offended by Chaewon’s innocent smile. Chaewon shoots her a conspiratorial wink before she starts grimacing as Heejin starts cooing to Hyunjin.

“Here, we can share my ice cream,” Heejin says shyly, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear as she holds out the offered cone.

Hyejoo wants to gag. She’s sure Chaewon feels the same next to her, the blonde shifting awkwardly left and right. 

And then suddenly Hyejoo realizes that Chaewon is shivering.

_48\. GIVE HER YOUR JACKET WHENEVER POSSIBLE._

“Here,” Hyejoo says casually as she shrugs off her jacket. She doesn’t hesitate before draping it around Chaewon’s shoulders. “You look cold.”

Hyejoo’s heart does a funny flip when Chaewon pulls the old piece of clothing tighter around herself, tucking the collar up to her nose.

“Thank you,” Chaewon says softly, her eyes shining like beacons under the sunless sky.

“Hey,” Heejin says out of the blue. “Hyunjin, I’m cold too.”

Hyunjin blinks.

“Well damn, Heejin. I can’t control the weather.”

 _How_ did Hyunjin get a girlfriend before Hyejoo?

Oh, right. Money. 

It takes another ten minutes for the dumb couple to stop fighting as Chaewon and Hyejoo cheer them on. Chaewon actually records the whole thing on her phone, including the part where Heejin banishes Hyunjin to the other end of the sidewalk. Their dispute is only resolved after Chaewon sends Hyejoo inside to buy Hyunjin a cookie, and somehow that’s enough for Heejin and Hyunjin to forget what happened ten minutes ago.

“No getting in the car until you’re done eating,” Hyejoo yells from the driver’s seat as Hyunjin stuffs the cookie in her mouth like some sort of hamster. 

“I still remember what happened the last time Vivi-unnie found crumbs on the carpet,” Heejin says with a shudder. “By the way, you guys wanna go check out the sunset since we’re out and about anyways?”

“I have a midterm in four hours,” Hyejoo frowns. “I haven’t even slept yet.”

“Who needs sleep?” Hyunjin says thickly, spraying crumbs thankfully on the outside of the vehicle.

“C’mon, Hyejoo, you know you’ll barely pass either way,” Chaewon says from the passenger’s seat. She bats her eyelashes. “Please?”

Hyejoo swallows.

“Fine.”

Much like Chaewon predicted, Hyejoo did indeed barely pass, but as the famous poet Im Yeojin once said: Cs still get degrees.

Haseul wasn’t as happy about that one.

* * *

_72\. GET HER CHOCOLATE._ ~~_BITCHES_~~ _GIRLS LOVE CHOCOLATE._

Hyejoo never imagined there would be a day that she’d want to kill Kim Jiwoo of all people. Sure, she loves making fun of the older girl and giving her a hard time just for fun, but she’d never really want to hurt the human personification of sunshine. 

Until today, that is.

“What are you doing, unnie,” Hyejoo says. It’s not really a question because she _sees_ what Jiwoo is doing, but a part of her is hoping that maybe, maybe, _maybe_ she’s wrong.

“What?” Jiwoo says, cheeks full as she looks up from the box of chocolates Hyejoo bought for Chaewon.

The box of chocolates Hyejoo almost took out a loan to buy.

The box of chocolates Hyejoo starved for one week to buy.

The box of chocolates Hyejoo nearly cried over as she counted pennies to buy.

The box of chocolates that is now completely empty.

Hyejoo takes a step forward.

Jiwoo squeaks and takes a step back.

“Stay back!” she warns. “I know karate!”

Hyejoo pauses.

“I thought you knew taekwondo?”

“Same difference when you’re in danger,” Jiwoo says. “I will fight you in the name of the moon– I mean in self-defense!”

“I haven’t even done anything yet,” Hyejoo points out as she grabs the empty box.

“Yeah, but you’re gonna!” Jiwoo says, diving behind the island counter. “I can tell! You’re looking at me the way you look at Sooyoung-unnie when she makes you mad.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Hyejoo says as she slowly rounds the counter. “I mean it’s not like you made me mad or anything, right, unnie?”

“Exactly!” Jiwoo says without a hint of irony. “I didn’t do anything!”

“You didn’t,” Hyejoo nods as she starts speeding up. “Except you did.”

“I did?” Jiwoo laughs nervously. 

“Who said you could eat the chocolates I bought for Chaewon?”

“You bought those for Chaewon?” Jiwoo yelps and ducks when Hyejoo flings the box at her. “I didn’t know! I swear! I just saw those sitting on the table!”

“And you didn’t even _ask_?” 

“I thought Sooyoung-unnie got those for me!” Jiwoo pleads. She clasps her hands together, her lower lip jutting out as she looks at Hyejoo with watery eyes. “Really, Hyejoo, it was an accident. Chaewon never brings chocolate to our dorm, and you weren’t here when I got back, so…”

Hyejoo’s eye twitches.

Curse Sooyoung for suddenly texting her about some “big fat emergency oh my god hyejoo get over here.” In what world is needing an additional body to lift speakers and other equipment an emergency?

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” Jiwoo says. “In fact! I’ll go and buy the same box of chocolates right now!”

“It’s not the same,” Hyejoo mutters. 

“I’ll buy a bigger one then! How about that?”

“Fine,” Hyejoo grumbles, crossing her arms. “But you better hurry, because she’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll be back in a jiffy!” Jiwoo says, clearly relieved by their compromise as she salutes and turns towards the door.

It opens before she even gets close to it.

“Hyejoo?” Chaewon says as she walks in. “What are you doing here?”

Hyejoo grabs Jiwoo by the collar before she can run.

“I came to see you,” she says.

Chaewon raises her eyebrow, and Hyejoo looks over at her prisoner just in time to see Jiwoo desperately mouthing “helpmehelpmehelpmehelpme.”

“Don’t mind her,” Hyejoo says to Chaewon. “I’ll be going now. I’ll take the trash out with me.”

“Hey!” Jiwoo protests.

Chaewon pouts.

“Didn’t you come to see me?”

“Yeah,” Hyejoo nods quickly. “And I just saw you, so–”

“Wait,” Chaewon interrupts her. “Are you busy right now?”

“Not at all, why?” Hyejoo answers despite knowing there’s actually quite a few unwritten essays waiting for her.

“Can we talk?”

Hyejoo’s grip slackens, and Jiwoo takes this chance to run for it.

“Ooooh,” Jiwoo whispers loudly as she hides behind Chaewon. Normally, Hyejoo would have found that sight funny considering the height difference between the two, but right now alarm bells are ringing in her head, a notion Jiwoo seems to agree with. “You’re in trouble, Hyejoo~”

“What?” Chaewon blinks before a flustered pinkness creeps into her cheeks. “Wait, no! I didn’t mean it like that. I mean like… I just want to talk to you.”

“Okay,” Hyejoo sighs in relief. “Um, sure. We can talk.”

“Awesome!” Jiwoo claps her hands. “See you two later!”

“You still owe me!” Hyejoo calls out.

A slam of the door is the only response she gets.

“What does she owe you?” Chaewon asks, tilting her head in curiosity.

“Nothing much,” Hyejoo says. She kicks the discarded chocolate box out of sight. “Anyways, what did you want to talk about? You almost gave me a heart attack there, by the way.”

“Sorry,” Chaewon says. 

For some reason, she’s not smiling the way she usually does around Hyejoo, and there’s a timidness in her actions as she slowly takes a seat at the small dining table designed for two. She’s fidgeting with her hands, playing with her fingers, and Hyejoo resists the urge to grab a hold of them as she takes the seat opposite her.

“What’s up?” Hyejoo prompts. 

_58\. IF SHE’S IN TROUBLE, DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO–_

“Hyejoo, do you like me?”

Wait, what?

“Howuargh?” Hyejoo blurts out, nearly biting her tongue as it trips over itself. 

Hyejoo’s first instinct had been to say “how ridiculous, how could you possibly think that,” but even she’s aware of how stupid it would be to sabotage herself like that. Though she managed to clamp her mouth shut in time, she’s now left scrambling for words as her brain lies in messy, confused pieces, Chaewon’s concerned gaze not helping in the slightest.

Hyejoo coughs loudly.

“Ahem,” she says. “Ahem. AHEM. What, uh… W– What makes you think that?”

Chaewon bites her lip before answering.

“You’ve been… weirdly thoughtful lately,” she says as she fiddles with a corner of the tablecloth. “I mean you’re always really kind even when you pretend otherwise, but like… You’re being even nicer than usual, and all our unnies keep saying it’s because you, well… you like me.”

“... And what do you think?”

“I don’t know,” Chaewon admits, looking up to look Hyejoo straight in the eye. “Maybe you’re just being super nice because you’re my best friend. Or maybe they’re right, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

Wait, _what?_

“Get your hopes up?” Hyejoo repeats, her brain already filtering out everything else Chaewon said in favor of fixating on those four words. “Get your hopes up in what way?”

“What do you think?” Chaewon counters, throwing Hyejoo’s own words back in her face. “You still haven’t answered me, Hyejoo.”

“I– uh…” Hyejoo’s mouth suddenly feels far too dry, and she forces herself to swallow in an attempt to get her brain working again. “I mean… uh… Isn’t it obvious?”

“No,” Chaewon says, and she’s back to that adorable pout of hers. “Like I said, you’re always nice to everyone even if you don’t want to admit it. And I don’t want to assume that I’m… special to you or anything–”

“Chaewon,” Hyejoo cuts in firmly. “Chaewon, do you realize that you’re literally the only person I ever share my food with?”

Chaewon’s mouth turns into a perfect O, and Hyejoo takes her silence as the chance to offer up her heart.

“You’re special,” Hyejoo says. “You’ve always been special to me. And you always will be. We’re soulmates, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Chaewon says, her voice quiet. “We are.”

Hyejoo smiles gently.

“I like you,” she confesses. “I like you so much. And I’ve been trying really hard to show you that.”

The faint pink on Chaewon’s cheeks suddenly darkens for some reason, and Hyejoo’s stomach decides to board a rollercoaster on its own volition. It’s not an unpleasant one, however, and Hyejoo’s chest is filled with exhilaration when Chaewon reaches out for her hand.

“You’ve been doing an amazing job,” Chaewon says. “I mean it was confusing at first, but… you can be quite the gentlewoman when you want to be.”

“I aim to do my best,” Hyejoo says grandly before sighing. “I’m sorry I can’t buy you like a million roses though. I’m still broke.”

“It’s okay,” Chaewon says reassuringly. “I don’t care about how much money you don’t have.”

“Even if my bank account has never seen triple digits?”

Chaewon’s eyes flash mischievously as she leans closer to Hyejoo.

“I guess that means I can be your sugar mommy now, huh?”

“Please never _ever_ say that again.”

Chaewon laughs that pretty, pretty laugh of hers, and Hyejoo wonders if this is what it’s like to be born anew.

“How about I be your girlfriend then?” Chaewon asks.

“I’d like that,” Hyejoo says. “I’d like that a lot.”

When Chaewon brushes her lips against Hyejoo’s, Hyejoo thinks that maybe, just maybe this Yves person was onto something after all.

**Author's Note:**

> twitter.com/adlerklasse


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